@Gambit: I realize that the naming is already common, and it will probably stick. But it's still technically wrong.

All the various Benonis have one thing in common: The main lines involve some kind of ...c5 / d4-d5 structure. 1.d4 c5 2.c3 is not a Benoni, it's an attempt to reach a Colle, London, etc. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 is not a Benoni, it's an attempt to reach lines of the English. And like those lines, your line specifically avoids the ...c5 / d4-d5 structure.

Btw. even if I had granted that 1.d4 c5 is already a Benoni, I could point to the Anti-Sicilians, who arise after the Sicilian 1...c5 is already on the board.

Stigma, I thought 1 d4 c5 was the Old Benoni Defense. The Russian chessbooks I have call 1 d4 c5 the Benoni Defense. Now, Zilbermints Anti-Benoni does sound intriguing. Unfortunately for your viewpoint, the name Zilbermints Benoni has been around since 1995. It is in Eric Schiller's huge tome, Gambit Chess Openings, and on the Internet.

Glenn, I'm not sure it is so much an improvement, but his conclusion after 12.Rh3 that black is simply a pawn up seems a little too simplistic to me. White has the bishop pair and the Nh5 cannot easily get back into play - I feel white has enough to hold the balance by pressuring on the queenside. If not then I think there is some scope for improvement in the line with 10.Ne2 Bf5 11.Bh6 Bxh6 12.Qxh6 Ng4 13.Qf4, though I cannot say I have any specific improvements here - just a gut feeling that white has something.

Markovich, I don't claim the games to be overwhelming evidence at all... but for a meagre 2000 FIDE player to be getting so many crushing wins against higher-rated opponents, in all manner of lines, suggests things are not simple. I am one of those who doubts the gambit's theoretical worth, but I think that it is worth exploring further to find out. I certainly wont blindly sing its praises after some bullet games.

I have to confess I am not convinced by this "Long Bogo" line... seems like I'm playing a h-pawn hack where I do not have my pawn on f3 where I would like it. I accept the open f-file gives alternate attacking options, but I think if black avoids castling the compensation cant be enough. I'd rather try to rescue the Studier before I resort to that!

"Give a man a pawn, and he'll smell a rat. Give a man a piece, and he'll smell a patzer." - Me.

"If others have seen further than me, it is because giants have been standing on my shoulders."

The main gap in the book is probably the "Long Bogo" lines of the 5...g6 variation where Black does not automatically castle kingside (6.Bf4 Bg7 7.Qd2 0-0 8.0-0-0). I think White definitely has enough compensation in that particular line, a conclusion supported by the book, but there is a lot of unexplored territory where Black chooses to leave the king in the centre a la Pirc Defence, and while White clearly has compensation there too, it's debatable whether it is enough.

Have been away playing quite a bit of correspondence chess recently, concentrating almost solely on the BDG as white. So far my statistics are +16, =3, -1 with two games ongoing which I think are winning.

Albeit some of these results are against weaker players, but I would suggest they are significant nonetheless. My record against (chess.com) >2000 players is +6, =3, -1, and that one loss came when I tried the main 8.Be3 in the Teichmann (whereas I have scored almost 100% with the Seidel-Hall 8.g4!)

This practice is suggesting that the BDG is fully viable even at these longer time controls as long as white is clued up (of course, database and book access makes this much easier!) - a conclusion which even I am surprised at.

Your results would much better support your conclusion had they been acheived on www,iccf-webchess.com or lss.chess-server.net. Competition on those sites is quite fierce, and opening ideas usually recieve a severe theoretical test. Your may be right for all I know, but I don't think that results achieved on informal sites like chess.com or even net-chess.com are very convincing evidence.

Nice wein's Craig. I think 5...c6 is a very good me as well but as I mentioned on one of these BDG threads I can't find complete compensation after 5...g6. Certainly a lot of pitfalls are presented for Black but I think he has the upper hand with best play. You played the old main-line with Bc4 in the game above, did you have an improvement ready over Christoph's analysis?

I have played against 5...g6 with 6 Bc4 Bg7 7 00 00 8 h3! the Studier-Zilbermints Attack on both the Internet Chess Club and tournament games. Also, I tried out the older Studier Attack after 7 00 00 8 Qe1, with mostly successful practice. Even 6 Bf4 Bg7 7 Qd2 00 8 000 has been tried by me on ICC.

With regard to the sneaky 5...c6, I have playrf 6 a3!? here with some degree of success. I also tried transposing into the Alchemy Variation after 6 Bc4 Bf5 7 00 e6 8 Ng5, with good results.

I've played all of the above myself in blitz games with success (excepting a3 which I haven't looked at) and I'm sure OTB and apparently correspondence as well they can be successful. However, it bothers me to play something that I know if they've looked at that lines I've looked at that I'm going to be struggling for a draw with the White pieces no less.

Nice wein's Craig. I think 5...c6 is a very good me as well but as I mentioned on one of these BDG threads I can't find complete compensation after 5...g6. Certainly a lot of pitfalls are presented for Black but I think he has the upper hand with best play. You played the old main-line with Bc4 in the game above, did you have an improvement ready over Christoph's analysis?

I have played against 5...g6 with 6 Bc4 Bg7 7 00 00 8 h3! the Studier-Zilbermints Attack on both the Internet Chess Club and tournament games. Also, I tried out the older Studier Attack after 7 00 00 8 Qe1, with mostly successful practice. Even 6 Bf4 Bg7 7 Qd2 00 8 000 has been tried by me on ICC.

With regard to the sneaky 5...c6, I have playrf 6 a3!? here with some degree of success. I also tried transposing into the Alchemy Variation after 6 Bc4 Bf5 7 00 e6 8 Ng5, with good results.

Nice wein's Craig. I think 5...c6 is a very good me as well but as I mentioned on one of these BDG threads I can't find complete compensation after 5...g6. Certainly a lot of pitfalls are presented for Black but I think he has the upper hand with best play. You played the old main-line with Bc4 in the game above, did you have an improvement ready over Christoph's analysis?

Have been away playing quite a bit of correspondence chess recently, concentrating almost solely on the BDG as white. So far my statistics are +16, =3, -1 with two games ongoing which I think are winning.

Albeit some of these results are against weaker players, but I would suggest they are significant nonetheless. My record against (chess.com) >2000 players is +6, =3, -1, and that one loss came when I tried the main 8.Be3 in the Teichmann (whereas I have scored almost 100% with the Seidel-Hall 8.g4!)

This practice is suggesting that the BDG is fully viable even at these longer time controls as long as white is clued up (of course, database and book access makes this much easier!) - a conclusion which even I am surprised at.

The best thing seems to be the wide range of possible defences - people trawling through databses seem to continually get lost in the variations and choose inferior ones. Still, I'm becoming more and more of the opinion that the BDG offers chances to fight for an advantage - though, of course, there are lines which probably equalise for black. Strangely only one person has tried 5...c6 against me so far (and fell for a Rxf5 trick) - this has to be the acid test of the line.

"Give a man a pawn, and he'll smell a rat. Give a man a piece, and he'll smell a patzer." - Me.

"If others have seen further than me, it is because giants have been standing on my shoulders."

Yesterday I won the Gerry D'Alessio Memorial Tournament in Ridgewood, NJ, with 2.5/3 points. It was a three-round event, with one game every Monday. As I could not play the first game, I took a half-point bye in the first round. The second game I easily won. But it was the last game which gave me undisputed first place. Here is the game score.

By the way, is 6 Bd3 a common move against the Gunderam? Somehow, I don't think so...